


Dream a Little Scream

by conversekitten



Category: Hello Puppets (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, happy halloween btw!, there is blood in the story but its not much, there's no graphic violence just scary imagery, this is a short story for halloween after all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27316771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conversekitten/pseuds/conversekitten
Summary: Dreams are a dangerous business when you have a devil in your midst.
Relationships: None
Kudos: 10





	Dream a Little Scream

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! This is a short one shot for this spooky night which is also a foreshadowing to an upcoming hello puppets series I'm going to be doing! Also pay attention to the details in the story or else the ending isn't going to make sense but anyway enjoy my lovelies and have a spooky night!

**_Aristotle once had a theory that if you whispered in someone’s ear while they slept, then you would appear in their dreams and could influence or even hurt them_ ** .

(T_T) 

  
  


Darkness was the first thing that Owen saw when he opened his eyes and that was combined with the splitting headache one would experience when hungover, even though he’d only had one beer that night. His eyes slowly drifted side to side as he licked his lips, but instead of bringing relief to the chapped skin of his mouth there was the faint taste of blood. Owen felt his heart skip a beat as his hemophobia was triggered, which caused him to make an attempt at reaching for the small amount of napkins he kept in his pocket for just this situation. 

That was when he found that he couldn’t move his arms at all. 

Panic began to slowly set in as the man tried moving the rest of his body but he found it was a futile attempt and that he was completely immobilized. Owen had always suffered from not only the fear of blood but a fear of being held down, stemming from the abuse he had endured from the playground bullies of his youth. They’d push him into the dirt then pin him to the ground easily enough since he had always been short and gangly, before throwing insults at him or hocking loogies in his face. 

Just as he was about to open his mouth and cry out for someone to come and assist him, the lights turned on. Owen’s immediate reaction was to squeeze his eyes shut due to the blinding rays of whatever device was making the light before he slowly opened his peepers a crack, making out the device to be an overhead lamp. This led to a small bit of confusion on his part as his eyes drifted down to see he had been strapped down to a table.    
  


Had he been drinking and then been in an accident? 

No, that couldn’t be possible seeing as he didn’t have any visible injuries. 

Had he been kidnapped?!

No, that couldn’t be possible since he hadn’t done anything worthy of being someone of interest to a potential stalker. He had only just started on making his tv show, they hadn’t even aired the tenth episode yet! 

Owen looked around the room the best he could, taking in the surroundings. He appeared to be in what looked like the lab that his puppet Riley Ruckus would perform in, but somehow it seemed almost gloomy and had a fair amount of clutter to it. Owen squinted his eyes as he tried to see what had been put in a container on the counter of a table nearby, but the bright lights mixed with the distance made it nearly impossible for him to do so. Turning his head to the right he was able to see a poster of the human body which matched the one from the show, except this one had a bunch of circles around the vital human organs that the poster displayed. There were strange symbols drawn next to the circles that looked like chicken scratch, illegible nonsense that caused an unsettling feeling to rise in Owen’s chest. 

A crash pulled the man from his thoughts and he whirled his head to the left just in time to see a shadow pass across the glass of the lab window. Owen furrowed his brow nervously as he heard footsteps outside in the hallway but they were uneven and slow, almost as if the person was struggling to stay on their feet. When the door knob started to move, the man had a sinking feeling that perhaps his theory about being kidnapped had some plausibility to it. The sound of the knob turning caused Owen’s heart to slowly crawl up into his throat and as the door began to slowly open, the squeaking of the hinges echoed in the man’s head alongside his plans of screaming for help the moment he could. 

Never in his wildest, prescription drug induced dreams could he have pictured what he saw in that doorway.

There stood a….person that was dressed in black coveralls, a rope around their neck, and a bag over their head. They had Riley on their hand but there was something seriously wrong with how she looked. The Riley that Owen knew and that everyone loved always had a big smile on her face, with round hopeful eyes, and was dressed to teach lessons on any type of science known to man. Riley had been a special project done by Owen’s wife Rubella and the puppet had been something that she held so dear to her heart, almost as if the woman and puppet were one in the same much like Owen and Mortimer. 

But now she looked like a mad scientist, a monster with wide eyes, a surgical mask with a frightening mouth drawn on it, and a tray with surgical tools on it.

“Wh-who are you? Where am I and...why do you look different Riley?”Owen stuttered out, not recognizing his own voice as it seemed to sound a little scratchier and more depressed. 

The person walked into the room with exaggerated steps similar to a zombie and upon coming into the light, Owen saw with dread that the front of Riley’s apron was coated with blood. Immediately he became paralyzed with fear, his eyes widening as the red haired puppet was brought closer to the operating table. The smell of death was strong as it hit his nostrils and as his gag reflex was triggered, Owen tilted his head back to keep down the contents of his stomach. Her voice, soft but threatening, hit his ears and caused an icy shiver to go down his spine. 

“The time has come at last, to give you the surprise from all of your cast.” Riley said, setting down the tray of implements on the side table.

“ Mortimer said that you were sad and sore, so we put together a little treat for our humble creator.” she continued, while picking up a syringe and tapping on the end of it. Owen struggled in his binds at the sight of the implement and he let out sounds of distress.

“S-somebody?! J-jake! Rubella! ANYBODY?!” Owen shouted before he exclaimed in shock as the needle pricked the skin of his neck.

Riley pushed down on the plunger, injecting the contents of the syringe into the man’s neck as he began to sob. “Riley...why are you doing this? Where is everyone else and...who is that with you?” the man said, his eyes growing misty with tears. 

The red haired puppet put the syringe aside on the table before she picked up a roll of duct tape. 

“Close your eyes and don’t peek, quite now and let us speak.” Riley said, pulling a short strip of tape off of the roll before putting it over Owen’s mouth. 

Owen screamed his protests into the tape as a cold feeling spread from his neck to his chest, then his stomach, then through his arms and legs. It took him a moment to realize that he had been injected with a paralyzing drug, making his whole body numb. 

“You have blessed us with a life we can savor, so allow us to help return the favor.” Riley said, as she picked up a scalpel. Owen screamed into the tape as his eyes fell upon the instrument, the sharp edge glinting in the fluorescent lights. Tears flowed out of his eyes and down the man’s face as he wet his pants from fear, the humiliation of action making him cry harder into the tape.

“We will make you well so do not fear, the time for the Red Queen to rise draws near!” Riley croaked out before she lunged, her eyes blown wide and crazed. 

Owen jolted up with a scream of terror, panting and dripping with sweat from the night terror he had just endured. His hands flew to his mouth and when his fingers touched the skin of his lips, Owen felt a small bit of relief wash over him. His vision began to clear as he realized that he was not in a lab but in his office, laying on the futon he used for a bed from time to time when he worked late. It was quiet and the digital clock on the desk read 3:15 am, only a half hour left before he had to open the doors to the Handeemen HQ. A light on down the hall let the man know that his co-worker Jake must have been working late as well, perfecting his ‘nick nack voice’ for the next episode. 

A quiet groan made Owen jump but when he looked to his side, he saw it was just his wife Rubella who had been working with him that night on their new act. They must have both fallen asleep on the futon after working for so long, which was fine by Owen since it seemed like he and Rubella never really had the time to do anything together anymore. But he figured that once the show reached popularity then he and Rubella could afford to take days off together and reconnect. Owen gave Rubella a kiss on the cheek before he laid back down, wrapping an arm around her and closing his eyes. 

As soon as Owen was asleep Rubella slowly opened her eyes, the dim light from the hall making her green eyes glitter menacingly. Her heart shaped lips curled into a devious smirk before she leaned in to place her lips mere inches away from Owen’s ear. She raised her hand to cover the area so her whispered words would be heard loud and clear before she began to speak. 

“Parul ta ta esca ro rosa ve tera deza, arise puppet. Arise and claim the soul of this host for your prize.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Sweet dreams Owen.


End file.
